Letters to the Editor Saturday

Sweet, because waste treatment and disposal costs at the King America Finishing plant apparently weren’t interfering. Permits weren’t needed to just dump processing wastes into sludge ponds and into the Ogeechee River year after year.

The granted permit appears to be of the fox-guarding-the-henhouse variety:

Fox: “You mean to say that we police ourselves and as long as one part waste and nine parts river water only kills one in seven fish in 96 hours (acute toxicity test), we’re good to go?”

Georgia Environmental Protection Division: “Right.”

Fox: “Sweet!”

Well, the hens have come home to roost, the party’s over and it’s time to clean up the backyard.

If the EPD were really interested in protecting people and ecosystems, wouldn’t it be concerned with the long-term (reproductive and genetic) impacts of the waste chemicals flowing into the river as well? Surely the state’s world-class science, engineering and technology talent can help answer questions and find solutions.

And send the bills to King America Finishing. A world leader in flame retardant fabrics should be able to cover them.

MATT GILLIGAN

Savannah

Drug dealing in city: Open and obvious

I totally agree with Aldermen Tony Thomas and Van Johnson regarding the concept of the Counter Narcotics Team.

Several years ago, I wrote numerous letters to the editor about the fallacy of the CNT concept. I wrote that since approximately 85 percent of Savannah’s crime problem revolves around the drug trade, it made no sense whatsoever to have a police organization that is separate and apart from the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.

I wrote that no other police organization in the United States that I knew of had such a bizarre organizational structure.

I could not exactly determine the rationale for the concept, but it was obvious that it involved the sharing of revenue between the city of Savannah and Chatham County. Public safety was taking a backseat to monetary considerations.

These considerations need to end as they are detrimental to the safety and quality of life for the citizens of Savannah.

The drug culture in Savannah is “open and notorious” and needs to be aggressively addressed by each and every member of the police department, not just the CNT.

I have spoken to police visitors to Savannah. They cannot believe how obvious the sale of drugs is in Savannah.

The competition between drug gangs is responsible for all the “Wild West” shootouts that have been occurring on a regular basis in Savannah, and innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. This needs to stop.

MIKE HORNER

Savannah

Obama wants people to depend on government

There is no question now that President Barack Obama is a socialist.

The president has stated that if you have a successful business, it is because of government and the help of others.

Notice there is no mention of investment, sacrifice and hard work.

The president believes that the people should be controlled by and dependent on the government, not the government controlled by and dependent on the people.

All blessings come from God. There is no free lunch.

Anything the government supplies is paid for by people from blessings supplied by God.

Elected officials pass laws while the police enforce them. As proven by the overall 14 percent reduction in Part I Crimes (murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, burglary, etc.), our police are doing an excellent job of enforcement.

When there’s a spike in a particular type of crime, to temporally divert manpower to deal with it weakens enforcement in other areas.

If an overall crime reduction is unsatisfactory to Alderman Tony Thomas and others, and we’re to resolve specific spikes without sacrificing attention elsewhere, city council needs to hire more police officers.

Otherwise, rather than demanding more from Chief Willie Lovett, city council should focus on ways to support the police and sustain their achievements. If, for example, shootings are the top concern, council should push the Georgia Legislature for more stringent gun laws.

During hunting seasons, a hunting license can suffice as a permit for long guns in vehicles. As for the “well ordered citizenry” who carry guns in their vehicles, they should be willing to get a concealed carry permit, which incidentally does not require gun registration.

Regarding gun permits and criminals, those with convictions are not eligible and those with none don’t want their fingerprints in databases.

THOMAS M. DANIELS III

Savannah

London Olympics put Obamacare on the world’s stage

Did everybody notice that Obamacare had, by proxy, an almost 15-minute feature in the London Olympics?

The wily Danny Boyle found a way to stick it to the conservative U.S. Republicans, who criticized Britain’s National Health Service in 2009, as quoted in the July 26 Savannah Morning News.

He had hundreds of real nurses from the NHS dancing around hospital beds — in effect, thumbing the noses at our naysayers, all of whom have their own health insurance.

The Brits are not loath to let the world know what they think; (the Magna Carta, adopted in 1215, establishing certain civil liberties we all enjoy).

So there, Mitt Romney. Add that to your other blunders in merrie olde England.

Now, to the quadrennial thrill of watching the march of the world’s finest — the vibrant youth of 205 counties.

I hope, in their magnificence, they will someday get together and eliminate all this international poppycock.

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revolves around the drug trade. Probably at least 85% of the drug trade occurs in Savannah. In Chatham County, everybody wants to be the boss. Every little podunk area wants their own police force. Every jurisdiction wants their little piece of the pie. Savannah can't handle the crime in Savannah, much less Savannah and the rest of unincorporated Chatham County. It's time to undo the police merger, let Savannah handle Savannah (if they can), bring back CCPD, and let them, along with CNT and smaller jurisdictions, handle everything else.

what are now illegal drugs, a price will still be placed on them. There will always be people who want and need them. They will want them without cost. They will commit crimes to get them and will commit other crimes while under the influence of their ill-gotten drugs. There will still be a blackmarket for drugs, legal or not. Just look how prescription (legal) drugs are abused.

tried to tell the politicians that back on November 17, 2003 when they created Metro, but the wouldn't listen. They said they didn't want to give "...all the power to one person...". So, what did they do?...gave all the power to Michael Brown and SPD. And now the unicorporated citizens are living with the fiasco. The Sheriff's Dept has already shown them where they could saves millions by putting unincorporated law enforcement under the SO.

You hit the nail on the head. That is the basic problem with laws that are not well thought out. It was Eisenhower who said that we should be careful about making laws. Proposed laws should be looked at not just to what good they will do but also what harm they will do.

legalize all drugs and all weapons systems. Let Darwin work his magic. A few innocents get whacked? Small price to pay for the dregs and shiftless to kill themselves off prior to their breeding frenzy.

Spice, k2, K4, which they call simulated weed, which I call simulated
crack or meth, is a problem within itself. It's man made with no correct absolute formula. In Savannah it was sold mostly in the little known stores, head shops, and adult stores. Word on the street is: You can still get it if you have the right code word. Justice would have been if they smoked the junk, and went back in and beat the tar out of the owners. The owners of the stores knew what that stuff did to people. They were only in it for the money. I hope everyone of those stores go belly up. It's mean of me to say that, but I really don't care, because they didn't care what it was doing to America as a whole. The FDA would block the sell of it, then the makers would tweek it just right to start up productions again. It was even sold to minors. Who only knows what that stuff did to the chemical balance where a young child's mind is concern.

The Netherlands. Most 'soft' drugs have been legalized, are government-controlled, government-taxed, and government-supplied. Prices are low and dealers have long since been out of the picture. You can buy hashish and weed in bars and grow-rooms there for a very tiny fraction of the price of what the same stuff sells for on the US illegal market. Heroin is dispensed at government clinics for a pittance ( or for free) to vetted addicts, who then have no need to commit crimes to get money for what they crave. Moreover, at clinics, addicts get counseling (I know it isn't much, but it is better than nothing.) They can get controlled/ gradually reduced doses of the drug and can often be switched to methadone by professionals at the clinics. Thus the hard drug dealers have also been shut down and the addicts don't commit crimes so as to get high. I have been around the block a time or two, but I can't recall any person addicted to prescription drugs ever committing a crime to feed his/her needs, other than attempting to slip one over on doctors and/or pharmacists. Legalizing the stuff would eliminate overcrowding at the prisons and allow room there for real, violent criminals, who could be kept off the streets longer. It would end the constant need to build new jails in this country and expand the old ones. It would also eliminate expensive payouts to maintain these special anti-drug police outfits which most larger municipalities spend tax money on, and it would de-clog the court systems.

I too have spoken to Mike Berko. FIrst, to clear the record, Mike was not "the chief of police" in Los Angeles. He was either an Assistant Chief or a Deputy Chief. Mike came into the LAPD at a high level. Very unusual. He came to the LAPD during a particularly difficult time when the department was under a Federal Consent Decree. Very unusual not to promote from within, but the city leaders were looking for solutions and credibility and stability.

I think Mike is a decent person. Well meaning. Knows the law enforcement biz. But he is also has a habit of career hoping. Nothing wrong with aspiring to be the chief of a giant police department. But Mike told me he was frustrated by too many bureaucratic hurdles in Los Angeles. Then he jumps to Savannah where he gets frustrated with the problems. I think the trouble is that Mike wants to be king rather than a manager. My way or the highway. He has trouble working with people who he doesn't directly supervise. In the end, Savannah was just a another couple lines on his resume. He will likely keep jumping from city to city. Probably doing some good along the way. But not entirely figuring out how to work inside a complex municipal organization that he is not completely in control of.

Amazing how you keep harping on Romney's tax returns, but conveniently ignore Obama's sealed college records and his refusal to hand over documents to congress in their investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. I'm sure in the eyes of your fellow Obama robots, you're one stand up guy!

forget birth certificates, forget ties to Islam, forget tax returns. These are all trivial distractions. Keep your eye on what matters.
Home sales still in a slump.
GNP is lowest in years.
Unemployment is creeping - the WRONG way.
Highest ever enrollment in food stamps.
Gas back to $3.50/gallon.
Three, possibly 4 Supreme Court vacancies in next 4 years!

Mitt and his wealth are insignificant. Just get Obama out of the White House by any non-violent means available.

It's a shame that Obama thinks as he does. It's a shame the people thought he would be the one to change America for the better.
On the other hand: It's a shame that someone else
really owns him, and he is someone else's puppet on a string, doing their dirty work for them. Either which way it is, he is no good, for America.

...tried to stop the overseas military vote in 2000, Obama and his AG in 2010 encouraged states to use waivers to get around the Military Overseas and Empowerment Act passed by Congress in 2009. Look for more of the same as we get closer to November 2012. It is no secret the majority of military vote Republican.